this morning I had a realization
it was about illness afflicting my snakes and the fact that it comes in two broad categories:
those the snakes had when I acquired them and those I caused by overfeeding them
Sammy will probably forever have bad sheds because of that surgery scar - a direct result of obesity
and Drache is once again on antibiotics, because that lump came back with a huge pus-filled abscess, we needed to drain - all of this started after his bout of overeating
it's really hard to find a balance
after all - it's so satisfying when they eat without fuss
and then there is the fact, that compared to an animal that needs to get fed twice a day, snakes are so low maintenance, that I often feel like I must have left something out
my vet tells me that regardless of the species, obesity is one of the primary causes of pet heath issues
after all my poor snakes have had to suffer due to my motherly urge to feed, I've learned to curb that urge